Send "Peter Doherty " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Rollingstone |
 Pete Doherty's gift for shambling but lovable tunes has survived numerous run–ins with needles and crack pipes, and his first solo album proves that gift can thrive in an acoustic setting. With Blur's Graham Coxon on guitar, the U.K. singer and former Libertine effuses a certain wastrel charm on tunes like the gently rocking "Last of the English Roses" and "Sheepskin Tearaway," a sketch of a chemical romance and one of Doherty's prettiest songs ever. Doherty, who now prefers Peter, doesn't quite have a full batch of tunes here — the weird, World War II–themed "1939 Returning" is one of a few songs that could use an actual chorus — but for much of the album he manages to make his dysfunction sing....full text |
| Culturebully |
| Peter Doherty’s pain is a river that runs wide and deep. From an objective standpoint the Babyshambles frontman seems like he should have everything to be happy about: he’s a rock star, he dates supermodels, he’s still young; however when you add unbridled hard drug use into the equation everything else sort of goes out the window. Even kicking the habit (as he has purportedly done) apparently doesn’t square a license to be cheerful. Instead of concentrating on the bright future, the former drug addict’s nature seems to be to dwell on the wreckage of the past. And that is precisely what Doherty’s debut solo Grace/Wastelands does. Moving even further away from the hard and fast days of Doherty’s former band, the Libertines, G/W is a slow, regretful stare at his former life (made more so considering many of the songs were actually written during said former life). It is also some of the finest work he has produced to date. Doherty recruited Blur super-guitarist Graham Coxon to lend his axe in the studio, and though more understated than he is capable of, Coxon’s fine pickings add immensely to the record’s musical complexity. The rest of Babyshambles also back up the singer from time to time throughout the album. Thematically G/W hews pretty closely to Doherty’s established allegorical canon—nostalgia, freedom, England, etc. The record opens with a jaunty little ode to everyday life with “Arcady,” an allusion to the ancient Greek utopia of “Arcadia,” a symbol that makes numerous appearances in Doherty’s body of work. Arcady/Arcadia could stand for a number of things from idealistic romanticism to the blissful escape brought on by hard drugs (of which Doherty was famously quite fond of). The tune is about as fun and fanciful as the album gets (which isn’t saying much)....full text |
| Scotsman |
| IT MAY nominally be his debut solo record, but producer Stephen Street drafted in Graham Coxon to be Pete's musical sparring partner, and puts together a winning combination. ADVERTISEMENT In the weird Gainsbourg spaghetti western vibe of 'A Little Death AroundADVERTISEMENT The Eyes', his guitar sinisterly snakes around a deadpan Doherty vocal. And the title correctly suggests Pete is in a good writing groove, playing on the French slang petite mort to trembling effect. We continue to do the continental with the suppressed exotic shuffle of 'Salome', just Biblical enough without getting preachy, and the lead single 'Last Of The English Roses' returns us to dear mouldy Blighty. 'Arcadie' should be credited as Doherty's latest and best effort to reinvent irreverent English tradition, with a jaunty ragtime guitar and coolly mannered vocal. It also has seraphic pipes, so put whatever you like in that and smoke it....full text |
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